Cardinals record sixth shutout with 2-0 win over Eagles

Sep 22, 2010

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The CUA field hockey team ran its
record to 7-0 on Wednesday as the Cardinals downed Mary Washington
2-0 on the road. The No. 17 Cardinals scored one goal in each
half as they recorded their sixth shutout of the season.

CUA was credited with six shots on the afternoon, while the Eagles
totaled ten. Mary Washington was awarded 11 penalty corners
and CUA had two. In goal for the Cardinals, Krystyanna
Ramsdell had nine saves, while Mary Washington goalkeeper Chrissy
Bowdren stopped four shots.

“Kris (Ramsdell) was awesome today,” head coach Gia
Cillizza explained after the game. “Liz Grumbein and
Catherine Mirsky also had strong games for us on
defense.”

She continued, “I thought Mary Washington played well in the
second half. This wasn’t our best effort, but again we
found a way to get the win. For them (Mary Washington) to
have 11 corners and us to hold them scoreless is pretty
significant.”

CUA once again struck early as Emma Dixon took a feed from Mary
Swarthout 7:10 into the contest and scored for a 1-0 CUA lead.

Mary Washington took the game’s next three shots, but
Ramsdell stopped two and the other was high.

Later in the half, Dixon and Tracey Scanlon fired shots in a span
of six seconds but Bowdren stopped both. Those were the final
shots of the first 35 minutes as CUA took its 1-0 lead into
halftime.

Less than three minutes into the second half, the Cardinals struck
again, this time by Tory Gagliardi off a feed from Scanlon on a
penalty corner. “That was a really well-executed
goal,” Cillizza said.

Even with CUA leading 2-0, Mary Washington kept the pressure on
the Cardinals, as the Eagles were awarded four penalty corners in
the game’s next eight minutes. Mary Washington also
took three shots in that time, but Ramsdell sent back all
three.

A shot by the Eagles’ Fiona Curtis at the 46:23 mark was
also stopped by Ramsdell as was Morgan Jones’ attempt with
six minutes to play. CUA’s defense, led by Ramsdell,
stood up to every Mary Washington charge, and the Cardinals shut
out their sixth opponent of the season.

The Cardinals will return to action on Saturday afternoon when
they travel to take on Susquehanna in the 2010 Landmark Conference
opener. Game time is slated for 1:00 from
Pennsylvania.

“I feel good heading into conference play,” Cillizza
said. “Three games this week is definitely going to be
tough on the girls, so they have to be smart about getting enough
rest and hydration and we as coaches have to be smart about the way
we practice.”